Overview: The Shallows By Nicholas Carr

Loss affects every relationship differently. Sometimes it brings people together, and sometimes it tears people apart. The novel “Past the Shallows”, written by Favel Parrett, is an excellent example of this, as it focuses on less vocalised subjects that most people in our society see as taboo. The aspects of society mentioned are points such as child abuse, alcohol addiction, pain, loss, and change, but most obviously the family centred in all this drama and the dysfunctional relationships formed between them. The story follows Miles, Harry, Joe, and their father, living on the south coast of Tasmania, and the struggles in their life. The themes of familial relationships, and loss feature throughout the novel, and will be discussed within this essay.

Could you imagine travelling the world as a powerful writer, befriending monumental people? This is the life of Pico Iyers. Iyers questions the intent of technology and whether or not this generation can depict the difference between what is a want and what is essential. How does Pico Iyers write so powerfully? Iyers does not act alone he quotes people of authority, releases his personal experiences, and paints a picture that brings the whole piece together.

Nicholas Carr, the author of The Shallows, wrote his book to convince further society that the internet is having an adverse effect on their brains and how they are receiving information. His major thesis for the novel was expressed when he exclaimed, "...the Internet controls what we think and the process in which we think because with its efficiency and speed, we are formulating all of our thoughts through the speed of the internet rather than through the speed of our mind." Throughout the novel, Carr discusses multiple reasons on how we have changed to depend on the internet. As well as how we have let go of older versions of technology and methods of learning because they seem insufficient compared to the internet. Carr was very biased

In "The Shallows" by Nicholas Carr the effect of internet usage and timeless inventions on our minds is explored. Carr argues that companies like Google are essentially prohibiting the transcendentalist movement. While it is beneficial to have such a large quantity of knowledge at our disposal, it also prevents us from reserving time to contemplate a problem. This, in turn, inhibits our ability of deep thinking. The more the internet is used the less we learn by ourselves. In light of these claims I support Carr's conclusion, with the world wide usage of the internet people are becoming less connected with there own ability to think critically. Living in the electronic age takes away our time to think deeply and to find solitude within our

Do you feel like over the years you have become less connected to friends, loved ones, and even yourself ? Well in the book The Shallows the author, Nicholas Carr, believes this is a real problem and it is being caused by the internet, he believes we are becoming somewhat shallow minded individuals. He feels as if something has been tinkering with his brain, making it much harder for him to concentrate, engage, and understand difficult texts and complex ideas. Nicholas Carr blames this on technology, more specifically the internet. I agree with Nicholas Carr in his argument, I believe the internet specifically has had a major impact on individuals, like myself, causing us to lose connections with the people around us and have a harder

1. What arguments has Carr put forth thus far? What are your initial impressions of his arguments, his presentation of them, and the support he provides? In The Shallows, Nicholas Carr presents his underlying argument that the brain is plastic, and any regular activity will change the neural pathways. Frequent use of the internet will modify the brain, and this is seen most often in physical reading.

Nicholas Carr, author of the novel “The Shallows: What the internet is doing to our brains” explains in his works that media and technology is affecting the way our brain works and is used in our daily lives. Carr states, “The price we pay to assume technology’s power is alienation. The toll can be particularly high with our intellectual technologies. The tools of the mind amplify and in turn numb the most intimate, the most human, of our natural capacities - those for reason, perception, memory, emotion.”(Carr, 211) Carr continues to explain an interesting phenomena that occurred in society within the

Do you feel more comfortable on the online world or the real and physical world? In the hallways at school, while walking down the street, in parked cars in a parking lot, in the store; everywhere you go, humans have their heads down, scrolling through the online world instead of getting a grasp of the physical world. In recent discussions of technology, a controversial issue has been how the internet affects us as humans. On the one hand, some argue that the internet is the “best thing to ever come alone”. On the other hand, however, others argue that the internet never should have come to life. The best perspective on this issue, is reflected by Nicholas Carr in his book The Shallows when he writes, “With the exception of the alphabets and

In The Shallows by Nicholas Carr, he asserts that the evolution of information and communication technology (ICTs) is having a detrimental impact on our brains despite the many benefits and advances we have made with it. His main focus is on the internet which he commonly refers to as the “universal medium” (92). Carr presents a very detailed but biased argument in which he views the internet and other technologies as the adversary of critical thinking and progress. To Carr, we are sacrificing our ability to think logically because we are choosing a simpler way to gain knowledge.

istraction. Did that get your attention? While technology is the very thing that provides us with answers, it is also the cause of our distractions. Alina Tugend essay “Multitasking Can Make You Lose… Um… Focus” and Nicholas Carr’s essay “Is Google Making Us Stupid” reflects on the purpose of how technology can cause delusional reactions upon our brain. Tugend is a columnist for the New York Times and also an author who appeared in the Los Angeles Times on many occasions. As for Carr, he has written widely on technology, business, and culture while observing the latest technologies and related issue. Together they seem like vastly different individuals, but Tugend and Carr’s essay essentially serve the same purpose to their audience. Authors Carr and Tugend reveal the purpose of harmful technology and the limitations cast upon the human brain through individual implementations of pathos, examples, and the voice of their tone.

The Internet is something that some consider their lifesavers, while others believe that it takes their life away. The Shallows: What The Internet Is Doing to Our Brains, by Nicholas Carr is a novel that explores the different areas of how new technologies affect humans in different ways, regarding multi-tasking and distractions, to how new technologies make us lose a little part of ourselves. Throughout the book Carr puts forward very strong arguments, but then loses creditability with his use of fallacies in argument.

In the final conclusion, after reading the book of The Shallows by Nicholas Carr has shared his use of knowledge, like displaying his articulate wisdom, has provided me to see the truth he speaks about the internet addictions and distraction. But in reading the whole book and gain more deep thinking skills of knowledge to be absorbed. I begin to realize about Nicholas Carr shares his story ideas, and it taught me to see how the advanced technologies are still growing and evolving rapidly through the modern times. Being a computer user as myself, that I do agree with the quotes of the Shallow book. I may or not be able to tell if I have become addicted to using the internet and skimming repeatedly to looking in the web pages such as Google,

In the Shallows, Nicholas Carr's argument or opinion on the internet is that it has rewired our brains, making us shallow individuals with little to connect to our hearts, souls and loved ones. However, I believe that this is false. Every person is different in both usage and how they use technology. In addition, the internet is changing our minds for the better. Computers make life easier for people every day. They help us to do tasks quicker and communicate with friends and family with the click of a button. Computers play a significant role in the school system as well. They help students to learn more efficiently and help them do their work. there are other programs which younger students can go on to help them with developing and reinforcing

It is not only the content that can have an everlasting effect on us; but the way in which it is being presented could actually be changing the way our brains process information. In Nicholas Carr's book, The Shallows, he explains the change in how he reads with the following analogy, "Once I was a scuba diver in the sea of words. Now I zip along the surface like a guy on a Jet Ski" (7). Carr is comparing and contrasting his reading style before and after heavy internet use. Pre-heavy internet use he had no problem delving into a complex book and exploring it's depths. Post-heavy internet use he now floats along the surface, skimming the text for main points. While some may argue that the latter is a more efficient way of gaining information

The internet is an excellent place to explore our mind and put our thoughts together; however, it also has a negative effect to our brains, and the more we use it the more it decrease our intelligence. In this essay “Does the Internet Make You Smarter or Dumber?” by Nicholas Carr, he argues about the immoral side of the internet. According to Carr, “When we’re constantly distracted and interrupted, as we tend to be online, our brains are unable to forge the strong and expansive neural connections that give depth and distinctiveness to our thinking” (22). Carr’s pint of view about the internet is that it does not make us smarter in any way; if anything it make us dense and slow. Scientific study have shown that most people who stayed on the internet quit a lot are more likely to damage their brains mentally. According to Carr, the internet is also a place to waste our time. Carr backed up his arguments with studies from scientists, researches and even books. In these essay, Carr’s appeals to logic and understanding is the strongest; whereas his appeals to ethos and his appeals to pathos are finite.